“By this time I was practically dead by fear. When Schubert was finished
the woman by the microphone presented new
prize-winners. When she had done that she said that now we are going to listen
first to a ballade by Chopin and after that a mazurka, whereupon she herself
sat down by the grand piano and played these pieces, absolutely professional. A
man called Pino, who owns a moving company, was standing just behind me. He had
to hold me, because I was leaning
in an angle of
45 degrees by nervousness. When the Chopin-interpreter had finished her
playing, she went back to the microphone and told everybody that now comes the ‘clou’
(highlight) of the night, the famous artist Mats Risberg from Sweden, and he is
now going to present some Swedish music for us. Pino, the man with the moving
company, practically had to lift me up on the podium, on the other side he
owned a moving company so he was used to lift things. The gorgeous microphone
woman first asked me what I was going to paint, since I yet not have with my
painting. I told her that I was going to paint Norrbottenish mountains and
reindeers. Why have you chosen this motive here, she asked. I then answered
that it would be like a cool aperitif in the Calibrien heat.“
*
”Hon undrade vad jag skulle
spela. Det här, sa jag, och tog fram en fusklapp med Evert Taubes Nocturne. Ett
arrangemang för både piano och gitarr. Hon ögnade igenom Evert Taubes Nocturne,
Sov på min arm, på två sekunder och sedan började hon beskriva i mikrofonen för
den tusenhövdade publiken; ”.. nu ska vi höra ett stycke som handlar om de öde
vidderna i fjällen, om den skimrande snön och ylande fjällräven i fjärran.” Hon
hade ju alltså inte en aning om vad det handlade om. Jag stapplade fram till
den vita flygeln. Då upptäckte jag att under flygeln förvarades alla de här
undersköna kvinnliga pianisterna. Så man kan säga att jag verkligen var ansatt
från alla håll; den undersköna mikrofontjejen till höger om mig, under flygeln
ett halvt dussin undersköna professionella kvinnliga pianister, plus den
tusenhövdade publiken bakom ryggen. Dessutom började det blåsa.”
*
“She asked what I was going to
play. This, I said and took out a crib with a ballade called Nocturne by an
Swedish composer by the name of Evert Taube. An arrangement for both piano and
guitar. She glanced through Evert Taubes Nocturne, ‘Sleep on my arm’, in two
seconds and then started to describe in the microphone for the big audience;’
.. now we are going to listen to a piece that is about the desert wide open
spaces in the mountains, about the shimmering snow and the howling mountain fox
in the distance.’ She did not have any idea of what this ballade was. I
staggered up to the white grand piano. Then I discovered that under the grand
piano was all the gorgeous pianists. So you could say I was surrounded from all
directions; the gorgeous microphone woman to the right of me, under the grand
piano half a dozen gorgeous professional pianists, plus the big audience behind
my back. On top of that it started to blow.”
*
När jag tog fram fusklappen och satte på flygeln så började den röra sig. Jag tänkte att i det här läget finns det bara två saker att göra, för det första coola ner sig totalt, för det andra spela det här så långsamt som möjligt. Jag bedömde att risken för felslag var mindre då. ’Sov på min arm’ går ju långsamt redan normalt, men om man spelar det extra långsamt, då går det verkligen långsamt. Det fungerade, men i slutet så darrade händerna, och jag kände hur nervositeten kom. Men jag tog mig igenom stycket. Det blev ju naturligtvis applåder och efter applåderna så sa mikrofontjejen att jag skulle få två diplom, ett för min konst och ett för min musik. Jag var den enda som fick två diplom. När jag senare stapplade ned från podiet och togs emot av flyttkarlen, så sa han till mig: ”hörru du, jag tyckte att det du spelade var bäst, för jag förstår mig inte på Beethoven och sånt där!” Det är en av de få gånger jag spelat i folkets smak!
*
When I took out the crib and put it on the grand piano, it started
to move. I thought that in this situation there is only two things to do, first
to cool down totally, then to play this as slow as possible. I estimated that
it was less risk to play it incorrectly if I did that. ‘Sleep on my arm’ is
normally very slow, but if you play it extra slow, then it is really extremely
slow!! It worked out, but in the end my hands were trembling, and I could feel
the nervousness coming. But I got through the piece. There were applauses of
course and after the applauses the microphone woman said that I was going to
receive two diplomas, one for my art and one for my music. I was the only one
who got two diplomas. When I later staggered down from the podium and was
helped down by the remover, he said to me; ‘listen, I thought you played the
best, because I do not understand Beethoven and things like that!!’ That is one
of the few times I played something that common people like!!”
*
Säger Mats med glittrande
ögon, och skrattar så där gott att man blir varm och glad ända in i
själen! Tack Mats, för att Du ville
vara min gäst och tack för att Du finns!
*
Mats says with glittering eyes and a good laugh, that makes you warm and happy right into your soul! Thank you Mats, that You wanted to be my guest, and thank You for being here for us!
Bambi Elinsdotter Oscarsson